Vegetarian-meat dishes that shrink hard to swallow for some McDiners

Not everybody's loving the new McDonald's vegetarian OmniPork luncheon meat - many says it's not as thick as advertised.

Advertisements claim the OmniPork luncheon meat will be a "15mm thick cut," but some people complained online that they are just 10 to 11mm thick.

How they came to measure that the patty is 33 percent less thick is anyone's guess.

McDonald's, though, has a simple explanation: the veggie meat is 15mm thick before cooking, but it shrinks after the water in it evaporates.

McDonald's and McCafes started to offer six dishes featuring the plant-based luncheon meat on Tuesday.

Diners can choose to have it in a burger, with pancakes, with twisty pasta soup or in a toastie or ciabatta.

In its advertisement, McDonald's said the luncheon meat used, at 15mm, is 5mm thicker than those sold in other restaurants, "which gives it a meatier texture, and the thicker cut will be exclusive to McDonald's."

One commenter posted: "Maybe it is just a difference in the definition of 'thick cut.' "

A spokesman for McDonald's stressed that "15mm is the precooked thickness. Such information is shown on self-ordering kiosks, digital menu boards, merchandising material, our website, etc."

He added: "The thickness of the cooked plant-based OmniPork Luncheon might be slightly affected, as the water inside might get vaporized during the cooking process."

The Customs and Excise Department said it has not yet received such reports.

"It is not mandatory under the Trade Description Ordinance to list specific types of information of commodities on its packaging, but during the operation of the business, all descriptions of the goods must be accurate," it said.

Breaching the ordinance means up to HK$500,000 in a fine and five years of imprisonment upon conviction, it added.

Solicitor Albert So Man-kit said a breach of the ordinance depends on whether those words are used for promoting the product, which will affect customers' buying it.

"Although McDonald's has made it clear in its restaurants and website that the advertised 15mm is the thickness of the luncheon meat before cooking, the fast food chain still needs to prove that the precook thickness is really 15mm and in line with the facts," So said.

"Or else it might be under risk of breaching the ordinance."

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com